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Sunday, June 29, 2008

I started my day all ready to blog about how productive my Friday Night and Saturday had been. Thinking about the next two pieces I was going to finish. I was out on the deck photographing the four pieces I had finished over the last two days when my son came outside and said : "Mom the basement smells like poop!"

I jet down stairs into the laundry room and found the sewer line overflowing into the basement- what happens next eats up most of my day- tracking down someone from the Town Public works on a Sunday afternoon to check the main line- to find out the main line is not clogged- then getting a hold of a plumber to come out to do the call- Needless to say- my day got away from me- finally I am sitting down to upload the pictures of the previous days labors.I'm quite happy with them

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

one of the things that almost everyone comments on, in regards to my blog - is my music-

i didn't realize how easy it was to add a music link to my site until a wonderful cyber friend of my Izabella, turn me on to it. then i found project play list and it was all over....

my music is my cocaine. it is my addiction. my friends, the people who know me the best, know that it just takes on duran duran track to get me out of a mental funk. they also know that i like to wallow in the dripping melancholy of film scores. you can almost hear the music, my sound track to life, when you look at my art. i have to have it when i work in the studio. i go through withdrawal.

so i am having a slight, very slight change in mood- and have switched up the music.

also, i want to thank high desert diva for writing a wonderful blog post about my Morpheus box! she has such great supplies- i love that gal! thanks Charmine!

Sunday, June 22, 2008

I made some major scores this weekend yard saling- my favorite is the rusty vintage light fixture I found that was salvaged from a chapel in San Antonio-and the framed holographic jesus portrait. The worktable is full of rusty metal and wood to create new works with. Stowe Street Art Fest is four weeks away. Got to get to work!

After our treasure hunting Jack and I went to the Montpelier Farmers Market for the first time this season- He love Ji Jing's Dumplings and the local fresh Strawberries- We had a great time!

my collection for the stowe street art fest is starting to come together!

I also found Nancy Anderson today. this woman's work rocks my world! when michael said i would like her stuff, he wasn't joking! wowsers! watch out mr demeng, if she teaches you might have lost a fan (just kidding- but, yeah, her stuff is that good!)

last thing to report: german scrap angel wings are flying off the shelves!! i listed five lots today and they all sold! listed some more...

Monday, June 16, 2008

This weekend was very busy with Father's Day and my wedding anniversary. Was very productive in the art arena as well- I finished my Morpheus Box and will post more of that later. Started four new pieces - WIP pix will follow. Went to a great yard sale at the church down town Waterbury. Church yard sales are ALWAYS the best- next to town wide or block sales- I can always count on them for good scores. Did some dumpster diving with Jack at the Moretown Landfill. Found so great rusty stuff- went to the garden center for plants and potted them on the deck- and some how found time to finish Terry's book last night- shipping out later today to Linda- the residue of Michael's class still spilling in my work- even my AB's-

whew! that was a jammed packed weekend... the only thing we didn't do was go camping as Saturday night brought nasty thundstorms. maybe next weekend....

Saturday, June 7, 2008

a few weeks ago i picked up a four piece tray set at a yard sale for a quarter, knowing that i wanted to use the trays as frames for collage pieces the same way i did with the tiny cookie tins i did last year. so i started by painting the trays a lovely, distressing shade of the Uszhhh and went from there- They are almost all done- Jack and I are going to the flea market tomorrow morning to look for more frames to embellish with-

here's where i'm at now-

there are four multi-media wall pieces-4"x 8"

"the secret flame"

"woman becomes young"

"naughty alice"

"reward of merit"

naughty alice is almost completely finished- she needs just a little something in the lower right corner-

the rest need their embellishments

the secret flame will have a transparency overlay

very in love with the Uszhhh, thanks michael de meng for that fine paint recipe....

Monday, June 2, 2008

Sunday- was the Morpheus Box- this was a challenge- a huge challenge- for me- first off- i'm starting with the same form that all the other people in the class are starting with. this 5x7 pine box with a rectangular spinner that goes inside. and it's new-completely blank canvas- no history, ghosts or ancestors deep inside to guide me through the process, just a mass marketed box from a craft store. then there was the painting and prepping, i wasnt prepared for the amount of time it needed to dry and the bubbling of the dap chalk when i used the heat gun to move things along. .

I woke up knowing that i wanted to use the twin saints on either sides of the box. but they needed to be painted and prepped- i used michael'suszhhhhh mix on the white to make them more antiqued. the box several layers of the "dick van dyke"uszhhhh.

to give it a rich deep wood feeling like a dark church- the inside spinner inspired by the three mary's and joannie. the peasant girls, an old Victorian graduate or bride and the lovely with the long hair who reminded me of a romantic maryMagdalene clutching a rock. it all took much longer than i wanted it to- i really wanted to finish before the end of the class. it's almost there- but still needs more painting and more embellishments to bridge the inside and the outside and to adjust for the dead space on either side of the spinner. so it's now a wip- waiting to be finished.

when i got home yesterday- my husband was completely floored by the pieces, especially the one i finished yesterday. when were discussing the aspects of the piece and the relationship in it when he came out and said- your work is about the "church of the ordinary." and i think that really hit the nail on the head.

my art does have this sense of ancestor worship. taking the found objects, the mundane and enveloping them was a certain mystery and spirit. it's like the objects when joined together become alive to tell a story of those who are only memories. so this new block of work that i'm moving to is inspired by the "church of the ordinary."

we both agreed it is the best piece, the most complete piece i have done to date- which is what has been so invigorating about this weekend. i has put me into a much better head space- a different POV. so i have mr. demeng to thank for that- but a lot of it is about taking risks and not being afraid to commit to the art. to feel it with in.

whenever i start a new session, i always put my earphones on and listen to my music to get me into that frame of mind. that world in between.

so day three closed and i have re-entered my mundane world. working for the man, working my slave wage. but looking forward to a summer full of creating and discovering more about this artful self that is unfolding from me.